Medical How do I find the right path to an MD/PhD in Computational Biology

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a statistics major at an R1 mid-western state school. As of now, I am confident that I would like to pursue research in computational biology (I'm in a comp bio lab right now) and translate this to a clinical setting, but I am not sure how to plan out my coursework/general path to acheive this goal. I would love to get a minor in computer science as well, but this would jeopardize my ability to take more upper level biology courses (so far I have only physiology). Furthermore, I have been given advice to spend a year or two in industry instead of post-bac research to orient myself and see if I really want to pursue an MD/PhD.

In essence, would it be wise for me to emphasize computational coursework over advanced biological classes, and is taking gap years in industry over an academic lab a smart idea. Thanks.

The easiest thing to do is get your Ph.D. in computational biology first, then go for medical school. Otherwise, find out which programs exist that you would like to do research in. Then you can check those schools to see if they work with their medical school for combined degree programs. Off the top of my head, there is likely one or two such programs that exist. None of the MSTP's have that route as far as I know, and the closest route may involve departments of bioengineering.

I think you need to do a lot more digging into what the goal of MD/PhD programs is. Plenty has been written and posted on the AAMC Aspiring Docs website and Science Careers about what it entails.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks Mr.Smile12 for the advice. I've spoken with several MD/PhD students as well as a program co-director about what the program entails, and that is what pushed me towards MD/PhD over MD only as well as studying statistics since that knowing some statistics would be useful for computational research (the resources you reference were nevertheless extremely useful for clarification).

I have also heard that in general, upper level biology is extremely useful for MD/PhD programs. That said, I have noticed that my PI and other members in my computational biology lab originally studied math/computer science in their undergraduate years and did not necessarily study much biology until their phD, but the MD/PhD students have studied some, though they didn't really say how much. I have heard conflicting responses about how much biology is truly needed for my purposes, some say cell bio, genetics, molecular biology, and biochem (which I will be taking), others say that doing the medical school requirements is sufficient. Do you think it would hurt me if I do not have extensive coursework in advanced biology? Thanks!

So I'm going to ask some questions and try to figure out in reverse what you would like to do. A Ph.D. is more than just writing up a thesis and your research. A successful Ph.D. involves strong mentoring and supportive student services. First, what areas of computational biology do you think most energize you with excitement and why? Who is doing the most innovative research in this area (PI's and institutions/departments)? Most places I know that do a lot of computational biology deal with genomic information and data mining, which doesn't really utilize as much "biology", but I could be totally wrong. (Please note: I had some experience working in such a lab before the era of genomics at the NIH, so I have a decent idea of what your obstacles are.)

As I understand it through my peers who have gone through this process, a major outcome of success for MD/PhDs is placement in academic tenure-track positions with medical school appointments. Is there anyone you know in computational biology that has such a dual-affiliation? Where do they get funding for their research? This is key because if you don't pick a well-established Ph.D. sponsor, you're going to be more vulnerable to having the lab close on you and then you pick another project which isn't to your liking.